Worksite Improvement Case Studies

Sanitary beverage hoses were making a lot of noise due to machinery vibration and were becoming displaced. They tried inserting a hose at the connection point to absorb the vibration, but then they had problems with the heat and acetic acid used during cleaning, meaning that sanitation was also an issue.

Lacking a heat-resistant hose, a customer used a stainless steel pipe for a food equipment pump that provided a pressure feed and a vacuum. They came to us and asked if we had a heat-resistant flexible pump that would allow them to check the material inside, and we looked for a solution for them.

A silicone hose was used to flow red perilla extract at 90°C during the beverage production process. Color tended to remain in the hose, and the hose cleaning process was time-consuming. In addition, the hoses were replaced with new hoses once a year to prevent foreign substance contamination.

A spring hose constructed with a steel wire for strength was used for a beverage. The steel wire had begun to rust at the end of the hose where the fitting was fastened, so a braided hose with a thread was used instead of a steel wire to ensure the operation was sanitary. However, the vacuum pressure caused the hose to collapse and lose suction. The fluid flowed backwards, causing the production line to be stopped.

Fluorine hoses were used in an ice cream production line. Fluorine hoses are harder than those made of other materials, and removing hoses for cleaning is time-consuming and inefficient.

A customer replaced a machine hose for filling jam in a sweet roll treat to comply with the Food Sanitation Act, switching from a general PVC to an olefin hose. The hose had a nozzle at the end subject to a lot of vigorous movement, but the olefin hose was too stiff to perform well.

A customer had a silicone spring hose made overseas connected to a meat processing machine. When ground meat and other viscous meat ingredients were passed through, the flow volume was unsteady and a rupture resulted. They tried switching to a domestic high-pressure plastic hose, but it was stiff and difficult to use. Additionally, it was neither transparent nor made for food use.

In a plant producing yeast and other cultures, the cleaning method included an instantaneous rise in temperature and pressure. They used a typical silicone braided hose, but the thread would come out near the coupling, causing the hose to burst.

On a line producing small lots of curry roux (sauce), a customer had a hose that had a vacuum, and they found roux leaking from a metal fitting during conveyance. The hose was able to handle temperatures up to 60℃, but the place with the leak was 80℃, so they began looking for a better hose. On top of that, their plant had instituted a policy to eliminate the use of PVC, so they needed to find a hose that met that requirement as well.